JAMSTEC

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) is a Japanese government-affiliated national research institute headquartered in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, dedicated to ocean and earth sciences. JAMSTEC takes part in Japan’s deep-sea rare-earth work: it studies and tests the recovery of rare-earth-rich mud discovered within Japan’s exclusive economic zone near Minamitorishima Island, where sediments at depths of roughly 6,000 meters contain yttrium, dysprosium and other elements used in high-performance permanent magnets. From January to February 2026, a Cabinet Office SIP research program used JAMSTEC’s drilling vessel Chikyu to lift about 50 metric tons of rare-earth mud continuously from 5,569 meters (pipe length); a month-long mining test is planned for February 2027. No significant radioactive values were detected in the recovered mud, according to the program. The agency operates research vessels and submersibles.